Article depositing machine improvement

ABSTRACT

An improvement in the selector element of an article selector and depositing construction which selects articles from a mass and transfers them to a point of deposit. The improvement resides in the selector disc which is formed of a cooperatively engaged top and bottom plate, the top plate carrying a plurality of first spaced apart apertures disposed in a single ring concentrically to the center axis of the disc. The bottom plate defining an equal number of spaced apart second transfer apertures on its bottom surface and elongate depressions on its upper surface, the first and second apertures communicating with each other through said elongate depressions to form a plurality of radially disposed magazines for holding and transferring articles.

United States Patent n 1 3,696,968 Jaech 1 Oct. 10, 1972 [54] ARTICLEDEPOSITING MACHINE Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves IMPROVEMENTMet-tell 0. Jaech, Florisfant, Mo.

Morton-Norwich Products, Inc., Chicago, Ill.

Filed: Dec. 10, 1970 App]. No.: 96,894

lnventor:

Assignee:

U.S. Cl. ..22l/265, 133/8, 222/370 Int. Cl ..B6$g 65/18 Field ofSearch..l33/8; 22l/263, 264, 265. 277;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Assistant Examiner-Thomas E.Kocovsky Attorney-Jack Axelrood [57] ABSTRACT An improvement in theselector element of an article selector and depositing constructionwhich selects articles from a mass and transfers them to a point ofdeposit. The improvement resides in the selector disc which is formed ofa cooperatively engaged top and bottom plate, the top plate carrying aplurality of first spaced apart apertures disposed in a single ringconcentrically to the center axis of the disc. The bottom plate definingan equal number of spaced apart second transfer apertures on its bottomsurface and elongate depressions on its upper surface, the first andsecond apertures communicating with each other through said elongatedepressions to form a plurality of radially disposed magan'nes forholding and transferring articles.

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FIG. 4

INVENTOII MERRELL O JAECH ARTICLE DEPOSITING MACHINE IMPROVEMENTBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION In various industriesthere is the need to deposit a particular quantity of a given additiveinto containers which are traveling in a production line. There arethree principal varieties of depositing mechanisms. One mechanismdeposits a liquid additive in pre-measured quantities. A second,deposits granulated or powdered material from bulk in pre-measuredquantities. Both of these mechanisms are unrelated to the presentinvention and will not be discussed here any further.

The apparatus of the present invention relates to the third type ofdepositing mechanism. This mechanism selects and separates out discretearticles such as tablets, pills, ball bearings or the like from a massof such articles and deposits them at a pre-determined rate andlocation. Such mechanism is generally located to coordinate with acanning, bagging or other filling type production line. The articles tobe deposited are discharged into a moving container as the containerpasses beneath said discharge point.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART This type of article depositing mechanismgenerally comprises a support, mounted thereon at a cant of about 45from the horizontal, a selector means, said means including a rotatingselector disc with apertures or ridges therein, perpendicular to saidselector means, a depositing means, including a slotted depositing discand a depositing gate, and above said selector means a hopper whichreceives the mass of articles which are to be deposited.

The selector disc positioned beneath the hopper rotates through the massof articles in the bottom of the hopper where individual articles fallinto and fill the apertures in the selector disc. The selector disc thenrotates the filled apertures to a position above a transfer area. Thistransfer area is usually located at the highest point of rotation of thedisc and thereby allows articles to fall from said apertures into slotsof a depositing disc. The depositing disc has slots around its peripheryand is positioned below said transfer area. When an article falls froman aperture in the selector disc it passes through the transfer area andinto a slot of the depositing disc thereby effecting a transfer of thearticle from one disc to the other. The depositing disc is rotated at aspeed and direction to coordinate with the speed and direction of theselector disc so that each slot in the depositing disc receives anarticle from each aperture in the selector disc. The speed is usuallythe same as the selector disc and at the transfer area the periphery ofboth discs are moving in the same general direction. The depositing discafter receiving an article at the transfer area rotates its filled slotspast a sensor device to a deposit gate. There it is deposited into acontainer moving in the same direction as the slot containing thearticle. If the sensor device detects that a particular slot contains noarticle. said sensing device causes a shut-off of the operating line sothat no container will pass the depositing gate without receiving anarticle.

Some depositing mechanism frequently miss filling a depositing disc slotand therefore incorporate a compensating device in order to preventfrequent shutdown of line operations. Such a compemating device sensesan empty aperture in the selector disc and deposits an article in theslot of the depositing disc which would normally receive an article fromthe unfilled aperture. However, such a compensator has a number ofdisadvantages. The extra equipment requires more maintenance and offersmore possibility for wear and mechanical breakdown. In addition, thesupply of articles in the compensating device is limited and it can bequickly depleted thereby obviating its function. It is more desirable tohave a depositing mechanism which is reliable and requires nocompensating device.

The heart of the depositing mechanism is the selector disc. This elementmust select therequired number of articles each time and transfer nomore and no less to each slot of the depositing disc with the highestdegree of reliability.

Conventional selector discs have a series of apertures, each of whichpicks up a single article. The apertures are evenly distributed near theperiphery of said disc. Said apertures may have a beveled leading edgecontiguous with a slight groove curved towards the central portion ofthe disc. These modifications aid in selecting an article butnecessitate that the disc be rotated in the direction for which it isdesigned. As the disc revolves in its proper direction through the massof articles, an article falls into an aperture and is carried up towardsthe transfer area. A retaining ring positioned beneath the selectordisc, and upon which the article rides, prevents the article fromfalling out of its aperture. At the transfer area there is a gap in theretaining ring permitting the article to fall into a slot of thedepositing disc. The depositing disc then carries the article to thedeposit gate where it is deposited into the appropriate chamber.

Difficulties arise on occasion when two or more articles are caught byan aperture in the selector disc thereby causing two articles to dropinto a container. Also, the articles will sometimes bridge over anaperture preventing any articles from entering said aperture, resultingin an empty slot in the depositing disc and a shutdown of the fillingoperation. Once an aperture in a conventional selector disc passesthrough the hopper there is no way for it to pick up an article. If anarticle has failed to fall into an aperture, the slot corresponding tothat aperture will be empty and cause a shutdown. Further, in order toinsure that each aperture is properly filled, conventional selectordiscs must be revolved at a limited rate thereby limiting the speed ofthe filling operation.

In order to improve results, a variety of modifications have been tried.These include different sized apertures, different angles of bevelingand different depths of ridges and apertures in the selector disc. Alsotried were different speeds, different angles of cant for the entireselector disc and a gate in the hopper to secure a controlled level ofarticles in contact with the selector disc. Because none of thesemeasures produced highly reliable results, the aforementionedcompensating device is usually employed.

According y, it is an object of the present invention to provide aselecting and depositing mechanism which is highly reliable andeliminates the necessity for a compensating device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting anddepositing mechanism which provides a selecting disc which will reliablysingle out an article from a mass of articles and transfer said articleto said depositing mechanism.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting anddepositing mechanism which provides than an article will be transferredto a depositing disc even though the selecting disc has failed toseparate out an article during a particular revolution through a mass ofarticles.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selecting anddepositing mechanism which provides high reliability at a high rate ofspeed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a highlyreliable selecting and depositing mechanism which allows for inexpensiveand maintenance-free construction.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a selecting anddepositing mechanism which provides a selecting disc which is rotated ineither direction with equally high reliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the present invention relatesto an improved selector disc for use in a depositing mechanism, whichdepositing mechanism comprises a selector construction including aselector disc which selects articles from a mass of said articles andtransfers them to a depositing construction, said depositingconstruction carrying said articles to a point of discharge or depositat a pre-detennined time in order that said articles are deposited intoa container passing below said deposit point.

The improved selector disc of this invention comprises a disc having afirst and a second surface, said first surface defining a number offirst apertures having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter ofthe articles being deposited, which first apertures are evenly spacedconcentric to the center axis of said disc, said second surface definingan equal number of second apertures having a diameter approximatelyequal to the diameter of said first apertures, said second aperturesbeing evenly spaced concentric to the center axis of said disc and,relative to said first apertures, being positioned peripherally thereto.That is, said second apertures are at a distance from said center axiswhich is greater than the distance of said first apertures therefrom. Inone preferred embodiment the difference in distance from the center axisbetween said first apertures and said second apertures is equal to aboutone or more diameters of said apertures. Said first apertures and saidsecond apertures communicate with each other by magazine means throughthe depth of said disc. Said magazine means have a depth approximatelyequal to the diameter of said first and second apertures and arepositioned generally radial to the center axis of said selector disc.Though said first apertures may be positioned at almost any distancefrom the center axis of the disc, a preferred position is from about onetenth to about one half the distance from the center axis to theperiphery of said disc. As hereinbefore stated, the second apertures,relative to said center axis, should be one or more diameters distalfrom the first apertures with a preferred position being from about onehalf to about nine tenths the distance from the center to the peripheryof said disc. A preferred length for the magazine is from about two toID times the diameter of the articles which are being deposited. Themagazine means of the invented structure provides a highly reliabledepositing mechanism by insuring that the depositing constructionregularly receives an article from the selector construction. Becausethe magazine means stores one or more articles in reserve, failure ofthe first aperture to pick up an article on a particular revolutionthrough the mass of articles in the hopper does not prevent an articlefrom being delivered from the second aperture to the depositingconstruction. Therefore, once the magazine means are filled witharticles, the reliability of operation of the invented selector disc isfar greater than conventional selector discs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a perspective view fromslightly above the depositing mechanism of the subject invention. Thehopper 4 is depicted tilted partially back and is not shown in itsentirety.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a cross-section through the center ofthe depositing mechanism shown in FIG. I. In this view hopper 4 is inthe closed operating position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from above the improved selector disc 30.For purpose of illustration a portion of top plate 30 has been cut awayin order to show depressions or passageways 38. Also a portion of bottomplate 32 has been cut away to show the relationship of the two plates toeach other and the apertures and magazines thereby defined.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 3 showing thecross-section of improved selector disc 26.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly tothe drawings by reference numerals, there is disclosed a power-drivendepositing mechanism. For purpose of illustration only, the describeddepositing mechanism is here considered as depositing salt tablets.Broadly the depositing mechanism includes a support 2, a powered drivemechanism (not shown), a hopper 4 for containing the mass of articlessuch as tablets, a selector construction 8 and a depositing construction10, (FIGS. I and 2).

SELECTOR CONSTRUCTION A substantially bowl-shaped casting (hereinafterreferred to as selector disc bowl I2) is secured to support 2 by screwsor the like at an angle of about 45 from the horizontal. Selector discbowl 12 comprises a bottom portion I4 (FIG. 2), a side wall 16,extending from said side wall an emptying tube 18, (FIG. 1) and a hinge20 secured to the upper portion of said side wall 16. Bottom portion 14of selector disc bowl I2 is broken away at its upper-most portion toprovide a clear opening (hereinafter referred to as transfer area 21).Said transfer area 21 is positioned so that it allows tablets from theselector disc construction 8 to pass into the upper-most portion of thedepositing construction 10.

Selector disc bowl 12 has a central opening which receives and serves asa bearing 17 for one end of shaft 22 (FIG. 2). The other end of shaft 22has bearing 23 in an opening formed in support 2. Shaft 22 is disposedat right angles to the plane of bowl l2 and hence is at substantially a45 angle from the horizontal.

A cap element 24 is secured to the upper end of shaft 22 above thebottom 14 of bowl 12. A tablet pick-up plate (hereinafter referred to asselector disc 26) is secured to cap 24 by a bolt 28 or the like.

Selector disc 26 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is depicted as a two-piececonstruction comprising top plate 30 and bottom plate 32 removablysecured to each other by an adhesive or other like means. It is seenthat the periphery of selector disc 26 is coterminus with and defined bythe peripheries of plates 30 and 32. Top plate 30 has a plurality ofspaced pick-up apertures 34 therethrough, said apertures 34 being evenlyspaced concentric to the center of said plate and about one third of thedistance from the center to the periphery of said plate 30. Bottom plate32 has transfer apertures 36 therethrough evenly spaced concentric tothe center of said disc and near the periphery thereof. The uppersurface of said bottom plate 32 defines elongated depressions 38 one endof which terminate at apertures 36. When said depressions 38 are coveredby top plate 30 they form magazines 38A which magazines communicate atone end with transfer apertures 36 and at their other ends with pick-upapertures 34. When secured to bottom plate 32, top plate 30 ispositioned so that pickup apertures 34 communicate with transferapertures 36 through depressions 38 to form magazines 38A.

Annular retaining ring 40 (FIG. 2) is positioned beneath transferapertures 36 and is secured to bottom 14 of selector disc bowl l2. Saidretaining ring 40 is broken away at its upper-most portion to coincidewith transfer area 21. Transfer area 21 communicates with transferapertures 36 when they are rotated to their upper-most positions therebyallowing tablets in transfer apertures 36 to pass through transfer area21 and into depositing construction as hereinafter described.

HOPPER Hopper 4 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is attached by hinge to the upper edgeof selectordisc bowl l2 and is secured in its operating position byclips 44. Hopper 4 comprises a barrel 46 secured by rods 48 to hopperbase 50, said hopper base 50 being equipped with flange 52 and cone 54removably secured to said flange.

DEPOSITING CONSTRUCTION AND GEAR TRAIN A crown gear 56 (FIG. 2) ismounted on shaft 22 below selector disc bowl 12. Also fixed to shaft 22,by a suitable set screw or the like, is a beveled gear 58, said beveledgear being spaced apart from crown gear 56. A drive gear (not shown)from a power train (not shown) is mounted below and meshed with crowngear 56.

Depositing construction 10 has a bowl-shaped casting (hereinafterreferred to as depositing disc bowl 60) (FIGS. 1 and 2). Said depositingdisc bowl 60 is secured to support 2 (FIG. 2) perpendicular to selectordisc bowl [2 and comprises a bottom portion 62, a side wall 64 (FIG. 1)and, defined by an opening in said side wall at its lowest portion, adepositing gap 66.

A shaft 68 has bearing in bearing block 70 which shaft is disposed atright angles to the plane of bowl 60 and hence is at an angle of about45 from the horizontal. One end of shaft 68 extends through the bottom62 of depositing disc bowl 60 and has secured thereto timing adapter 72.

Adjustably secured to timing adapted 72 by bolts 74 is tablet depositingplate (hereinafter referred to as depositing disc 76). Depositing disc76 has articlereceiving spaces 78 disposed along the periphery thereof(FIG. 1). Said article-receiving spaces are evenly disposed and areequal in number to the transfer apertures 36. Depositing disc 76 is atright angles to said selector disc 26 and is positioned so that theupper edge of depositing disc 76 is adjacent transfer apertures 36 attransfer area 21. Side wall 64 of depositing disc bowl 60 is also cutaway at its upper portion to permit communicating between transferapertures 36 and article-receiving spaces 78 at transfer area 21. Bottom62 (FIG. 2) of depositing disc bowl 60 serves as a retaining surface fortablets in spaces 78. Secured by a set screw or the like to the otherend of said shah 68 is beveled gear 80 which gear 80 is meshed withbeveled gear 58. Normally beveled gears 58 and 80 are of the same ratioso that discs 26 and 76 are rotated at the same speed. The ratio, ofcourse, may be varied to allow for practical relationships of transferapertures 36 and article receiving spaces 78.

OPERATION In operation the powered drive train (not shown) suppliespower to revolve crown gear 56 (FIG. 2). Crown gear 56 is attached toshaft 22 and thereby causes attached selector disc 26 and beveled gear58 to rotate. Beveled gear 58 is meshed with beveled gear 80 which isattached to shaft 68. Depositing disc 76, also attached to shaft 68, bymeans of timing adapter 72, is thereby caused to revolve synchronouslywith selector disc 26.

Tablets are placed in hopper 4 and by gravity fall against revolvingselector disc 26. As selector disc 26 revolves it carries pick-upapertures 34 underneath the mass of tablets whereby said tablets fallinto said apertures. At the lower-most point of rotation of magazines38A contained in selector disc 26, tablets from pick-up apertures 34fall into and load said magazines. Concomitantly with the loading ofsaid magazines, tablets also fill transfer apertures 36 where they arestopped by retaining ring 40. As tablets are transferred out of transferapertures 36 new tablets enter pick-up apertures 34 as replacements.Though, during a particular revolution of selector disc 26 a tablet maynot enter a pick-up aperture 34, the reservoir of tablets in magazines38A insures that there is always a tablet in transfer apertures 36.

After a tablet passes through magazine 38A and reaches transfer aperture36 it falls a short distance until it contacts retaining ring 40. Asselector disc 26 rotates, the tablet rides on retaining ring 40. Whenthe pick-up apertures 34 with their appurtenant magazines 38A andtransfer apertures 36 are carried to the upper extremities of theirrotation the tablets contained therein ordinarily would have a tendencyto fall out of their respective apertures and/or magazines. However,such emptying of magazines 38A and apertures 34 and 36 are prevented bythe walls of magazine 38A and apertures 34 and 36 respectively. Tabletspositioned in transfer apertures 36 eventually reach transfer area 21 atthe apex of their rotation. Here tablets fall into article-receivingspaces 78.

The ratio of beveled gear 58 and beveled gear 80 is such that anarticle-receiving space 78 is rotated to receive a tablet from eachtransfer aperture 36. Exact positioning of article-receiving spaces 78may be made by adjustably moving depositing disc 76 relative to timingadapter 72. Articles which fall into article-receiving spaces 78 arecarried to the lower-most position of their rotation where theyencounter depositing gap 66. The tablets then fall into containers (notshown) passing beneath said depositing gap 66. The drive trainsynchronizes the speed of the depositing mechanism with that of thepassing container.

The selector disc may be made from plastic, metal, wood or otherconveniently worked materials. It is preferable that the surfaces have alow friction factor. Though this disc can be manufactured in one pieceit is more convenient to manufacture it in two pieces, a top and abottom plate as hereinbefore exemplified. A twopiece construction alsoallows for inexpensive replacement of the top plate which is the elementof the selector disc most subject to wear.

Modifications in the shape and size of the pick-up apertures, themagazines and the transfer apertures may be made to accommodate avariety of conditions and a variety of articles being deposited. Theapparatus of the present invention may be used to deposit one, two ormore articles at a time. The particular size and positioning of thetransfer apertures, the transfer area and the article-receiving spacesas well as the ratio of speed between the selector disc and thedepositing device may be varied to accomplish the desired results.

What is claimed is:

1. In a depositing mechanism which comprises a selector constructionincluding a selector disc which selects articles from a mass of saidarticles and transfers them to a depositing construction, saiddepositing construction carrying said articles to a point of deposit ata pre-deterrnined time in order that said articles are deposited into acontainer passing below said depositing point, the improvementcomprising a selector disc having a top and bottom plate cooperativelyengaged, said top plate on its upper surface defining a plurality ofspaced apart first pickup apertures therethrough disposed concentricallyin a single ring around the center axis of said disc at a distanceintermediate the center of said disc and its periphery, said bottomplate on its lower surface defining a number of spaced apart secondtransfer apertures equal in number and approximately equal in diameterto said first apertures, said second apertures being disposedconcentrically to said center axis at a distance therefrom greater thanthe distance therefrom of said first apertures, the upper surface ofsaid bottom plate defining elongate depressions one end of whichterminate at said second apertures and the other end of which terminateat said first apertures, said first and second apertures communicatingwith each other through said elongated depressions through the depth ofsaid disc thereby defining a plurality of magazine means, said magazinemeans being af fl ga i' a t us f cl im l n e rein the diameters of saidfirst and said second apertures and the cross-section of said magazinemeans are slightly larger than the diameter of the articles which arebeing deposited.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first apertures are positionedfrom about one tenth to about one half of the distance from the centerto the periphery of said disc and said second apertures are positionedfrom about one half to about nine tenths of the distance from the centerto the periphery of said disc.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said magazine means have a lengthwhich is equal to from about two to about ten times the diameter of thearticles which are being deposited.

5. In a depositing mechanism comprising a selector device which selectsarticles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositingdevice, said depositing device carrying said articles to a point ofdeposit at a pre-deterrnined time in order that said articles aredeposited into a container passing below said deposit point, theimprovement comprising a selector disc comprising a first plate and asecond plate which plates are of equal diameter and cooperativelyengageable said first plate defining a plurality of first aperturestherethrough having diameters slightly larger than the diameter of thearticles being deposited, which first apertures are evenly spacedconcentric to the center axis of said first plate, said second platehaving a first and a second surface said first surface defining aplurality of elongated depressions equal to the number of said firstapertures said depressions having two ends one end terminating in asecond aperture through the depth of said second plate, said secondapertures having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of saidfirst apertures, the other end of said elongated depressionscommunicating with said first apertures and forming magazine means, whensaid first plate and said second plate are cooperatively engaged.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the diameters of said first and saidsecond apertures and the cross-section of said elongated depression areslightly larger than the diameter of the articles which are beingdeposited.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first apertures are positionedfrom about one tenth to about one half the distance from the center tothe periphery of said top plate and said second apertures are positionedfrom about one half to about nine tenths of the distance from the centerto the periphery of said bottom plate.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said elongated depressions have alength which is equal to from about two to about 10 times the diameterof the articles which are being deposited.

1. In a depositing mechanism which comprises a selector constructionincluding a selector disc which selects articles from a mass of saidarticles and transfers them to a depositing construction, saiddepositing construction carrying said articles to a point of deposit ata pre-determined time in order that said articles are deposited into acontainer passing below said depositing point, the improvementcomprising a selector disc having a top and bottom plate cooperativelyengaged, said top plate on its upper surface defining a plurality ofspaced apart first pickup apertures therethrough disposed concentricallyin a single ring around the center axis of said disc at a distanceintermediate the center of said disc and its periphery, said bottomplate on its lower surface defining a number of spaced apart secondtransfer apertures equal in number and approximately equal in diameterto said first apertures, said second apertures being disposedconcentrically to said center axis at a distance therefrom greater thanthe distance therefrom of said first apertures, the upper surface ofsaid bottom plate defining elongate depressions one end of whichterminate at said second apertures and the other end of which terminateat said first apertures, said first and second apertures communicatingwith each other through said elongated depressions through the depth ofsaid disc thereby defining a plurality of magazine means, said magazinemeans being generally radial to said center axis.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the diameters of said first and said second aperturesand the cross-section of said magazine means are slightly larger thanthe diameter of the articles which are being deposited.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein said first apertures are positioned from about onetenth to about one half of the distance from the center to the peripheryof said disc and said second apertures are positioned from about onehalf to about nine tenths of the distance from the center to theperiphery of said disc.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidmagazine means have a length which is equal to from about two to aboutten times the diameter of the articles which are being deposited.
 5. Ina depositing mechanism comprising a selector device which selectsarticles from a mass of said articles and transfers them to a depositingdevice, said depositing device carrying said articles to a point ofdeposit at a pre-determined time in order that said articles aredeposited into a container passing below said deposit point, theimprovement comprising a selector disc comprising a first plate and asecond plate which plates are of equal diameter and cooperativelyengageable said first plate defining a plurality of first aperturestherethrough having diameters slightly larger than the diameter of thearticles being deposited, which first apertures are evenly spacedconcentric to the center axis of said first plate, said second platehaving a first and a second surface said first surface defining aplurality of elongated depressions equal to the number of said firstapertures said depressions having two ends one end terminating in asecond aperture through the depth of said second plate, said secondapertures having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of saidfirst apertures, the other end of said elongated depressionscommunicating with said first apertures and forming magazine means, whensaid first plate and said second plate are cooperatively engaged.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5 wherein the diameters of said first and said secondapertures and the cross-section of said elongated depression areslightly larger than the diameter of the articles which are beingdeposited.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first apertures arepositioned from about one tenth to about one half the distance from thecenter to the periphery of said top plate and said second apertures arepositioned from about one half to about nine tenths of the distance fromthe center to the periphery of said bottom plate.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 5 wherein said elongated depressions have a length which is equalto from about two to about 10 times the diameter of the articles whichare being deposited.